


Space is Big and Cold

by saltyspacebitches



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam (Voltron) Lives, Allura (Voltron) Lives, Allura gets therapy, BECAUSE THEY NEED TO, Bisexual Allura (Voltron), Bisexual Disaster Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, GIVE THEM ALL THERAPY, I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE END OF SEASON 8, IM STILL MAD, Keith wears Lance´s jacket, Lance and Keith discuss their near death and death experiences, Let her and Lance be Bi Buddies, M/M, Shiro gets therapy, Space Dad and Earth Dad have a wild pack of children, They all need therapy, and the respect she deserves, canon has been killed in the back alley, discussion of trauma, s8 fix it, so season 8 was a clusterfuck, vld 8, vld fix it, whats canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-04-06 06:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19057090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltyspacebitches/pseuds/saltyspacebitches
Summary: Season 8 fucking sucked and I´m fixing it





	1. Episode 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof I'm still mad about season 8, so this is kind of like catharsis for me
> 
> I'm going to give the characters everything they deserve

When Shiro started wearing his engagement ring on a chain around his neck, no one was very surprised. Everyone knew that the loss of Adam was weighing on him, and Shiro’s own family was dead. Adam had been all he had left, even though they broke up. Shiro put on a brave front in front of The Atlas Crew. Though he started living in The Atlas as soon as it was ready, Shiro did not feel at home in the place. He often thought about Adam, and how they would have been married by now, or maybe Shiro would have been dead. But Adam wouldn’t have been. And that was exactly Shiro’s problem.

________________

Lance was upset. He was back on Earth, but the strangest thing was he wasn’t happy. Even with Allura finally flirting back with him, Lance felt like something was missing. He sat in one of the Garrison’s many cafeterias for soldiers. He had been promoted to a Lieutenant as soon as he returned to the Garrison, so the cafeteria was one of the three officer ones. Lance wasn’t fidgeting, which was an odd thing in itself. Lance always fidgeted, no matter the situation.

 

Lance was lost in his thoughts when Hunk walked in. Once upon a time, Lance might have called Hunk his best friend, but now it seemed like Hunk would rather hangout with Pidge than spend time with him.

Hunk pulled out one of the chairs out.

 

“Lance, are you okay?”

 

“What?” Lance jolted. He hadn’t been expecting anyone in here, since it was after lunch hours, and this was the last day before the launch.

 

“You seem to be- I don’t know, upset. Did something happen with Allura?” Hunk asked.

 

“What! No, nothing happened.”

 

“That’s the problem then!”

 

“No, I don’t- why do you think that’s the problem?” Lance was confused.

 

“You’ve got a crush on Allura, and you still haven’t manned up and asked her out. That’s most likely weighing on you.” Hunk seemed like he knew what he was talking about, and Lance was inclined to believe him.

 

“I think you’re right, but tomorrow is Launch Day. We don’t have-“

 

“Oh no no no. Don’t you dare try and get out of asking her. I’ll ask Pidge to help me get you to. And you really don’t want to get her involved with this.” Hunk grabbed Lance’s arm and started dragging him towards the hallway. Officers in the regulation orange passed by, but Lance knew that Hunk was looking for someone with a pink uniform. “A pink uniform that suited her so well” Lance thought to himself.

 

Towards the end of the hallway, Lance finally spotted her. Allura was walking with Romelle. The two had grown closer since the Garrison had discovered the Altean in a the mech. They were probably on their way to check on her.

 

“Hunk we shouldn’t-“

 

“Allura! Romelle!” Hunk interrupted Lance and called out to the girls.

 

“Oh Hunk, Lance, I didn’t see you there. Romelle and I were just going to check on Luca. We thought, maybe she would have woken up by now.” Allura stopped Romelle and turned around smiling. Lance felt his stomach fill with butterflies.

 

“Actually, Allura, Lance has something to ask you. I’ll go check on Luca with Romelle. ” Hunk gently prompted him and began walking away with the petite blonde.

 

“Lance, what did you want to ask me.” Allura touched his hand gently and Lance began blushing. He always blushed easily with her.

 

“I- I mean- uh…” Lance mumbled something under his breath.

 

“What was that?” Allura asked.

 

“Would you like to go to dinner with me?” Lance rushed. He couldn’t believe he had actually done that. Damn Hunk and his ability to boost Lance’s confidence.

 

“I would love to Lance. What time shall I be meeting you?” Allura brushed a stray hair out of her face and suddenly Lance couldn’t focus.

 

“I uh- Maybe an hour after Shiro’s briefing. Does that- Does that work for you?” He stumbled. Getting a date with his crush was not an easy thing to accomplish.

 

“Oh of course. I’ll see you after the briefing Lance.” Allura smiled and rushed off, calling after Romelle.

________________

“WE HAVE A PROBLEM!” After finding Romelle, Pidge, Veronica, Leiffsdottor,  and Rizavi, Allura had dragged them all into Mrs. Holt’s garden on the Atlas.

 

“Calm down Allura. It’s just a date.” Pidge reminded her.

 

“Exactly. It’s a date and I don’t have anything to wear other than this uniform or my Paladin armor. Neither of those are suitable for a date.” Allura was on the verge of freaking out.

 

“Lance isn’t going to care.” Veronica told Allura gently.

 

“But I would still like to wear _something_ nice for a date. It’s not about Lance.” Allura told them all.

 

“We should go shopping.” Rizavi blurted.

 

“Oh no you’re not. Katie is grounded.” Mrs. Holt seemed to appear from nowhere just so she could chastise her daughter.

 

“Mom!” Pidge immediately started protesting.

 

“No no, this is what happens when you run off to space without even telling your mother.” Mrs. Holt remarked.

 

“Well maybe I thought the fact that I saved both my brother and father AND THE FACT I WAS FIGHTING AN INTERGALACTIC SPACE TYRANT WOULD MAKE YOU CUT ME SOME SLACK!” Pidge stood up and started yelling.

 

“KATHERINE HOLT I AM YOUR MOTHER AND I KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU!” Mrs. Holt yelled back.

 

“Mrs. Holt-“ Allura started.

 

“No, call me Colleen. Mrs. Holt was my mother.” Colleen looked like she thought she made some sort of funny joke. Allura didn’t understand at all what she thought was funny, and was sure Romelle shared in her confusion.

 

“Colleen, I really need Pidge to come with us on an excursion. You see, I have a date and no suitable clothing for such an occasion.” Allura explained.

 

“I guess if Katie is back on time for Captain Shirogane’s briefing, she can go. But don’t let her out of your sight.” Colleen walked off to tend to her plants and the girls immediately started planning

________________

Lance walked through the halls alone, thinking. He went down a corridor and made his way to Coran’s room. The ginger was sitting in his chair, reading something on a tablet.

 

“Uh… Coran?” He asked quietly.

 

“Lance, my boy! How can I help you?”

 

“Well, I asked Allura out, and I was wondering if there’s any specific Altean stuff I should do?” He fidgeted with his fingers, trying to distract himself from thinking.

 

“What? You didn't even consider the proper Altean courting methods before you invited her out. No matter! We can arrange something after Number 2’s speech.” Coran pointed to the little speaker in the corner of his room, which buzzed to life.

 

“Would all Atlas Staff please report to the auditorium.” A calm clear voice spoke. Lance stumbled off, getting ready to be inspired.

________________

Keith was thinking. In a place he probably shouldn’t have been thinking. Okay sue him, he was on top of Black. And maybe he was hiding. He knew Lance was going out with Allura, which sucked, but he couldn’t let it affect him. He had to lead. He had to be impartial. He had to be Shiro’s perfect successor. And he wasn’t just up there to think. It was the best view of the sunset.

 

“Patience yields focus.” Keith muttered to himself, rubbing his hand together. They were a little cold, but his leather gloves weren’t in his old room on the castle, so he didn’t have them anymore.

 

“Keith!” A voice spoke, jolting him out of his thoughts.

 

“Lance you- what the fuck!” He interrupted himself, taking a moment to stare at Lance’s weird choice of clothing.

 

“I- Coran said this was traditional Altean clothing. I thought maybe Allura would like it more.” The boy self consciously rubbed his shoulders, a nervous tic Keith had noticed back before he left for the Blade.

 

“Well, maybe it worked for Coran, but you should just be yourself.” Keith yanked the pot off of Lance’s head.

 

“You know, you sound kind of like Shiro.” He laughed and Keith groaned.

 

“No, that’s literally the worst. Ugh, I don’t want to sound like my brother.” Lance laughed, making him feel all warm and soft inside.

 

“Well, team leader, you may just have to get used to it.”

 

“Hey Lance?” He turned and faced him, steeling himself to give the advice.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I want you to know, we’re gonna come back to earth. We’re gonna beat Honerva, and we’re gonna do it with the Lance that’s always got my back. The paladin of the red lion. The Lance who knows exactly who he is and what he has to offer.” He studied Lance, looking for something. He didn’t find whatever the hell his brain was looking for.

 

“Thanks Keith. You really think so?” He was looking at the sunset, and Keith kept staring.

 

“Yeah, I do.”

________________

Lance was wearing a nice sweater with a collar. For some reason, he still felt a little off, which made zero sense. Maybe it was the fact that, somewhere along the line, Keith had gotten good at pep talks. He was ahead of Lance. They weren’t really neck and neck anymore. Maybe they never had been.

 

The doorbell rang and Lance ran downstairs to open the door before any of his siblings could. He threw the door open to find-

 

“Allura.” She looked absolutely gorgeous in her light blue dress. Her white hair was down and curled prettily around her shoulders.

 

“Lance. Thank you for inviting me.” Allura blushed and stepped inside.

 

“I-uh-well-it-it was nothing! Thanks for coming!” Lance smiled leading Allura into the dining room Veronica, Rachel and Luis were already sitting at the table, which most likely meant Marco was helping Mama in the kitchen. He pulled out a chair for Allura and plopped down next to her.

 

“Oye! ¿Lance, quien es la niña bonita? ¿Es esta Allura?” Rachel spoke quickly. Lance’s twin was smart enough to speak in Spanish instead of English.

 

“Sí, es Allura. ¡Ahora cállate la boca!” He unfortunately spoke loud enough to get the attention of his mom.

 

“Leandro, cuida tu lenguaje. Hello, you must be Allura. My name is Rosa, I’m Leandro’s mother.” Mama smiled and brought the food out. Marco trailed behind her, only 14 years old, but still helping around the house.

 

“Leandro?” Allura was clearly confused. Understandably so, since no one called him Leandro.

 

“Lance. His full name is Leandro.” Luis spoke with his mouth full of food.

 

“¡Oye, Luis! No hables con la boca llena.” Mama corrected him swiftly. She never had any tolerance for bad manners. Especially since his older brother was 27.

 

“Sorry Mama.” His brother looked downwards, making sure to swallow before speaking again.

 

“So Allura, how did you and Lance meet?” Rachel smirked, clearly up to something.

 

“Oh. Uh well, I had just fallen out of a cryostasis chamber, and Lance caught me. Then he said something about me falling for him, and I thought he was an intruder so I twisted his arm and forced him to submit.” Lance blushed as the princess explained. His siblings snickered.

 

“I bet you made him submit.” Veronica muttered.

 

“Have I said something wrong?” Allura asked, clearly confused. She didn’t understand the inadvertently dirty joke she made. Lance blushed. He just wanted to leave.

 

“No no no nope no no no.” Lance rambled, his face turning redder.

 

“Before Lance dies of embarrassment, I’ve got a question for him.” Veronica was smirking. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. This was bad.

 

“Veronica…” Mama said warningly.

 

“So since you’re dating Allura now, do you think you can set me up with your long haired friend?” Veronica looked like a cat who swallowed a canary as she twisted her fork. Lance turned bright red and stumbled to get his words out.

 

“NOPE NOPE NOPE NOT HAPPENING!” Lance flushed even more and grabbed Allura’s hand.

 

“Lance wha-” She started.

 

“Allura and I are going outside. Bye!” He pulled his date outside and hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with that.

________________

“Veronica, I thought you didn’t like boys.” Rachel stared at her older sister. Normally she was on board with fucking with her twin, but he acted weirdly after that one.

 

“I don’t.” The girl replied.

 

“But you asked about Keith.” Luis pointed out.

 

“Yeah, I want to fuck with him a bit. I didn’t know he would react like that.” She protested.

 

“Veronica Lucilia McClain! ¡En primer lugar, cuida tu boca! ¡Segundo, no debes molestar tu hermano así! ¡Especialmente cuando él está en una cita!” Mama was pissed. She always scolded them in Spanish, but never that harshly. Rachel felt bad for her sister.

 

“Lo siento Mama.” Veronica looked at the ground.

 

“When your brother’s date is over, I expect you to apologize to him. You are too old to be acting like this. Now, clean up. I’m going to make sure Marco goes to bed on time.” Mama walked off, leaving the 3 oldest in her wake.

________________

Allura was led out to a beautiful tree in Lance’s backyard. Or rather, the remains of it. The tree didn’t have any leaves and had clearly been dead for a long time. She touched the blackened trunk as Lance began speaking.

 

“I used to come out here all the time. Before the Galra. The tree was, I don’t know, a source of calmness. You’ve met my family, and you can probably tell I needed one. Each of my siblings did. We’ve all got one. And this tree was mine.” He stared at it. Allura reached over and held his hand.

 

“Lance, I’m so sorry. I never meant for this war to affect your home. But, I can try to restore your calm place.” She closed her eyes and felt against the tree. Alchemy was in her blood. She pushed through the dead husk of the tree to the lively oak it had once been. And she pulled. Pulled it to the front, making the new bark grow and the leaves come back beautifully green. She heard a soft gasp and she opened her eyes. Lance was staring in wonder at the tree. She figured she did an alright job.

 

“Thank you Allura. I can’t… thank you.” Lance hugged her, and she relaxed in his arms. She liked Lance well enough, and he would keep her safe. There was no risk with him. The two laced their hands and walked back inside. Allura had to go back to base to prepare for launch tomorrow. Lance would be there after spending the night with his family. Her date with him had been… nice. Uneventful, but nice. And Allura would try to move on with him.

________________

Keith slashed his sword as the hologram keep moving. The sim was helping to keep his mind off things. He beat the last bot and sat down, taking a quick break.

 

“Keith, you in here?” The door wooshed open and Shiro stepped inside. Keith looked over, not bother to say anything, but instead raising his hand in acknowledgment.

 

“Are you pouting?” His brother came over, sitting down next to him.

 

“I’m not pouting. I’m training.” He took a sip out of his water bottle.

 

“Yeah, sure. So, why are you pouting here instead of your room?”

 

“‘M not pouting.” Keith protested.

 

“Keith…”

 

“Okay fine! I’m not pouting, but I am trying to take my mind off something.”

 

“Is this about-”

 

“Maybe.” He looked at the ground, ashamed.

 

“There’s nothing wrong with your feelings.”

 

“I know that. Jesus Shiro, the only reason I have an issue with it is because he likes someone else.”

 

“You… you should go for it will you still have the chance. Maybe he won’t reciprocate, but nothing lasts forever.” Shiro fingered with the ring on the chain. He was clearly thinking of-

 

“Shiro… how- how do you cope? Losing Adam-” he looked at him.

 

“I knew he wouldn’t be waiting for me when I came back. He told me that much. I guess… I just have to remember I wouldn’t have been with him anyways.” Shiro looked over, before leaving. Keith supposed his situation could be worse. Lance could be dead, like Adam.

________________

The cell he was in was cold, damp, and dark. The weirdass furries who put him in here probably didn’t give a fuck whether he lived or died. Hell, they probably were waiting for him to go insane. But he had something to hold onto. Two dog tags that the Galra giving him his prisoner uniform had let him keep. One of them, his own, stating Winston, Adam. The other was far more important. It said Shirogane, Takashi. His… ex. Who was probably dead. Not like it mattered. Adam would be dead soon enough. He had no clue how long he had been in this space prison, but the only way to tell days from nights was when the jailer brought in a tray of food. Or what these assholes called food. Adam has spent who knows how long in the place wait for a miracle. But one wasn’t coming and he was done waiting.

 

He would just have to make a miracle himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Key for the Spanish:
> 
> Oye! ¿Lance, quien es la niña bonita? ¿Es esta Allura?: Hey! Lance, who is the pretty girl? Is this Allura?  
> Sí, es Allura. ¡Ahora cállate la boca!: Yeah, it´s Allura. Now shut the fuck up!  
> Leandro, cuida tu lenguaje.: Leandro, watch your language  
> Oye, Luis! No hables con la boca llena: Hey Luis! Don´t talk with your mouth full  
> ¡En primer lugar, cuida tu boca! ¡Segundo, no debes molestar tu hermano así! ¡Especialmente cuando él está en una cita!: First of all, watch your mouth. Secondly, don´t make fun of your brother like that! Especially when he´s on a date!  
> Lo Siento: I´m sorry
> 
>  
> 
> I hope y'all enjoyed and please comment anything I can fix in later chapters
> 
> Updates for this fic can be found on the tumblr @saltyspacebitches
> 
> Y'all most likely will be able to tell whether Green(me) or Blue(the other mod) is writing


	2. Episode 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeehaw bois, it’s time for some Klance

The engines hummed as the Atlas glided through space. Lance was beginning to unpack his boxes of things. Voltron, since it was listed as its own unit, had a corridor all to itself. The paladins were given rooms that were smaller than their ones at the Garrison, which was understandable because their rooms had been doubles before. When Shiro had explained why they were given their own rooms, instead of doubling like others, he said that it was because Commander Iverson didn’t want to restrict the paladins. Lance’s room was pretty basic, but he did his best to make it his own. He had pictures of his family plastered on the wall above his desk and dark blue pillows arranged on his bed. There was a blue beanbag Veronica had helped him get on the ship, and his childhood stuffed animal, a shark, was plopped on top of it. 

A knock startled him out of his thoughts. Lance rolled off his bed and made his way over to the door. He opened it to find Allura on the other side. She was dressed in a pink t shirt, a black jacket, and a pair of jeans with combat boots. 

“I think… we should probably talk about last night.” She stood awkwardly in the doorway, clearly uncomfortable. 

“I… yeah we should. Come on in. ” Lance moved out of the way and sat down on his bed. Allura followed and sat next him. Not close though. 

“I want to start by saying, though I had a lovely time yesterday, I don’t think that this is going to work between us.” 

“I-yeah, that’s pretty much what I was going to say. I know you care about me, and I’ll always care about you, but I don’t want to be someone’s second choice. I want to be to chosen.” Lance smiled at her as Allura bent forward and brushed her lips against his cheek. 

“Thank you for being so understanding Lance. I think you don’t deserve to be my rebound. I need to try and move on from Lotor before attempting any sort of relationship.” She smiled and left his room, leaving him to think.   
________________  
Pidge’s room was a bit of a mess. As soon as she returned from space, her parents had gotten her stuff out of storage helped set up her room. The original bed had been switched out for her old loft bed, which she slid the Garrison provided desk underneath. She had two monitors set up on the desk, which she hooked up to her laptop when she wanted to design new programs. She had two bookshelves and a dog bed as well. Currently, Pidge was sitting on top of her bed looking at conspiracy videos. Keith was sitting in her swivel chair, looking at his phone. 

“Hey Keith?” She spoke quietly. 

“What?” He pushes out from under the bed, tilting his head to look up at her. 

“So, you know I don’t really like talking about feelings. I’m not good at it. But you, you’ve been off for a little bit and I’m wondering why.” 

“I’m not off.” Keith insisted. 

“Oh my god, you’re so off. Keith, what the fuck is up with you?” A pop, and Kosmo was suddenly in her room. 

“You can’t run away!” She exclaimed, flipping over the barrier of her bed and grabbing his arm. 

“I’m not! Kosmo probably wants treats or something.” He protested. 

“I swear to god-”

“You said you didn’t do feelings. I don’t either, so why the hell are you pushing me?” Keith interrupted her. 

“I’m your friend, and you need to actually communicate with someone. If not me, then I’ll get Shiro. And do you really want him to help with your feelings? Besides, I’m pretty sure I already know what’s up anyways.” Pidge retrieved her laptop and plugged it in to her monitors. 

“Yeah, what do you think it is?” He seemed interested. 

“Instead of telling you, why don’t I just show you?” Pidge typed a few buttons, and the Atlas security footage was up. Keith was slashing through holograms in training room. Eventually, the door slid open and Shiro walked in. The footage was dated for yesterday. 

“Okay, I get it.” Keith slammed the laptop shut. 

“There’s Castle footage on here too. Maybe you want to see your bonding moment.” She snarked. Keith scowled and opened his mouth. 

“Pidge-” He began. 

“No. You may have been on a fucking space whale for 2 years, but last I checked, we were friends. And you told me about how you… you care. And your dad’s death. And you can’t just pretend that we weren’t friends.” 

“I’m not-”

“No! You’re pretending we weren’t friends and didn’t spend hours at the castle talking about cryptids and conspiracies. You’re being a dick.” She climbed back into her bed as Keith sighed and went up after her. 

“I know you don’t like feelings. I don’t like ‘em either. That’s why I didn’t really talk to you about him.” He sat at the edge of the bed, prime position for kicking off. And he probably knew that. 

“’m not gonna forgive you unless you don’t hold stuff like this from me. Ever.” She held her hand out, a clear sign of a deal. He shook it just in time for the intercom to go off. 

“All paladins report to the bridge in your armor.” Shiro’s voice spoke clearly. 

“I’m gonna… go. See you on the bridge.” Keith waved and ran out of her room. Pidge groaned and changed into her armor as quick as she could. Well, this day was about to get interesting.   
________________  
Lance stood on the bridge, waiting for Shiro to explain what the hell was going on. The former black paladin stood in front of them after directing Veronica on where to steer the Atlas. 

“We’ve picked up a Galra Station on our scanners. We want you to infiltrate and discover if they mean any damage being this close to Earth. Listen to them and don’t cause needless casualties. Dismissed.” Shiro waved his hand and all of them raced to the lion bay. Lance made sure his comms were on and took off towards the station. Red was the fastest, which meant he got there first, without any sort of problems. Maybe the base was abandoned. His screen clicked on and Keith appeared. The little text next to him stated it was a private channel. Just between Keith and Lance. 

“Lance?” He seemed a little concerned, but not sure how to approach it. 

“Yeah?”

“Does this seem weird to you? We haven’t had any sort of fight and we’re basically flying fighters into a Galra base.”

“Why are you asking me? Pidge has the scanners. She could probably tell you whether it was abandoned or not.” Lance pointed out. Keith made a face and took a breath. 

“She could, but you’re my right hand. I don’t want to push her into a position where she could get shot down if I’m wrong. Green isn’t really made for fighting. I trust your gut. If you think it’s abandoned, we’ll go in fast.”

“Wow.” He sighed. 

“What?”

“Two years on a space whale, and suddenly you’re way less impulsive.”

“I’m not-why does everyone keep mentioning the space whale!” He groaned and slammed his head against his console. Or, the part of it Lance could see. It was so ridiculous, he started laughing. 

“Keith, I’m picking something up on my sensors.” Pidge’s voice cut through his laughter. He unmuted his public channel and waited for Keith to tell them what to do. 

“What’d you get?”

“Multiple life forces on the ship. Some possible prisoners. I think. Galra layout has changed since we last fought them.” She adjusted her glasses. 

“Okay ummm, I’m going to lead in, Lance, bring up the rear and make sure nothing can get us from the back. Pidge, I want you behind me to keep scanning. Hunk and Allura, stay close to Lance and provide backup when needed.” Keith delegated the roles and then disappeared off the chat. And so did Allura. 

“So… what do you think they’re talking about?” Hunk asked as they got closer to the opening. 

“Whatever aliens talk about.” Lance muttered. 

“Technically, we’re the aliens out here. Since, you know, this isn’t Earth.” Pidge pointed out.

“Don’t point out the technicalities.” He groaned. An alert blasted across the screen. They were at exiting point.

Lance got out of his chair and headed to the back of his lion, pulling his helmet on. He kicked off the ramp, activating his boosters and gliding towards the entry point. He slid through the hole and rolled to a stop. He was the last on in, everyone else already activating the their bayards. Keith led the way with his sword, sneaking and kicking in a door. A group of Galra soldiers stood at a monitoring station. One of them turned around and-

“Commander Lahn?” Hunk questioned. 

“It’s Warlord Lahn now.” He growled. 

“Lahn, why are you doing this?” Allura asked. 

“You lot abandoned me and now you’re going to pay for it. Guards.” The stout, purple man gestured to the sentries and soldiers. They pointed their guns at the paladins. Lance shifted his bold on his rifle and pointed it at them, Hunk’s canon started charging up, Pidge’s bayard crackled with electricity, and Keith pointed his sword. Allura held a hand out and stepped forward, her bayard flashing into her armor, a clear sign of wanting peace. 

“Listen, Warlord Lahn, we never meant to abandon you. The paladins and I were stuck in a 3 year time distortion and… it’s a bit of a long story to be honest.” The Galra soldiers lowered their guns, but the sentries kept point the guns, which wasn’t a surprise, since they were robots. Lahn made a signal with his hands and the sentries lowered their weapons. 

“Since you… you lot are here, I’ve got a job that needs accomplishing. A fleet of our ships went missing a few quintents ago. We’ve just picked one up on our scanners, and it’s devoid of any life forces. I don’t want to risk anymore of my men. I will accompany you onto the ship.” He moved past them and headed to the cargo bay, slipping on a helmet. The paladins followed suit, but Lance made sure to keep an eye on him. No one on the team was going to get hurt from this Galra. Not on his watch.   
________________  
Keith didn’t trust Lahn. He didn’t trust the way that he ordered his men to stay behind. Clearly this was going to be dangerous, and he wasn’t about to let his guard down. It was pretty clear that Lance had the same idea. The blue paladin was scanning the surrounding, his vibrant eyes occasionally darting back to Keith. Studying something. 

They eventually landed on the empty ship, which was easy to slip into. Lahn led the way, with Allura following behind him. Lance stayed in the back and Keith dropped back to talk to him. 

“Somethings not right.” He muttered. 

“How can an entire fleet of Galra ships vanish and reappear empty?” He replied, steadying his sword. 

“According to the footage, it’s some sort of creature.” Pidge pipped up from the front of the ship. She was looking at the console, which had a creature that looked familiar. 

“Pidge, can you pull up the destination log? I have an idea on what this thing is.” Keith stepped forward, watching as the tech wizard tapped a few buttons and a long list appeared. 

“It says here the last destination was- wait a second, isn’t that the place where you found your mom?” She asked. 

“That’s what I was afraid of. This thing is a quintessence sucking monster. An experiment Haggar couldn’t control. Mom and I had to let it loose to get out of there.” Lance was looking at him pointedly now. And so was Allura. And Hunk. And Pidge. 

“You mean to tell me you just LET OUT AN EXPERIMENT THE MAD SCIENTIST WHO MADE IT COULDN'T CONTROL!” Allura exclaimed. 

“It was the only option. And you might want to be quiet. It could probably find us if you keep yelling at me.” 

Each of them materialized their weapons as Keith thought about some sort of plan. They needed to get out of there and get rid of the creature. 

“I have a plan. We split up and search the ship for the thing. Pidge rigs a self destruct and we blow this place to hell.”

“We should use the buddy system.” Hunk contributed. 

“Yeah, every time they split up in horror movies, they go off individually and get killed.” Pidge pointed out. 

“Okay, okay. Pidge and Allura should pair up, Hunk and Lahn should balance each other out, and I’ll take Keith.” Lance quietly explained a system of pairing up. Everyone nodded and Keith opened his mouth to speak once more. 

“Pidge, once you get the self destruct set up, tell me and then get yourself out.” He spoke. His self proclaimed buddy was giving him a weird look. Did he say something wrong?

The team split up and the boys went through the empty hallways of the ship. 

“Now this really reminds me of a horror movie.” Keith muttered to himself. 

“Hey, what exactly did you mean by tell you? Are you planning on doing something stupid?” Lance wasn’t looking at him, but his facial expression must have been disappointed. 

“I didn’t really mean anything by it. Just, someone might have to stay behind to trigger it.”

“And you thought it should be you?”

“Yeah, it makes sense. Like you keep pointing out, I’m team leader and I need to keep the rest of you safe.” 

“No. No no no no no. Keith, my buddy, my pal, my dumbass friend. You can’t stay behind because you’re team leader. You have to keep the team running. I was… I’ll trigger the self destruct. You can get a better pilot for Red after that. 

“Lance, what the fuck do you mean get a better pilot for Red? You are the best person in the entire fucking galaxy to pilot him. And he might have not come when you called during the Battle of the Last Stand-” Lance muttered something indistinguishable and the hallway began shaking. 

“This conversation is so not over.” Keith pointed out. 

“We make it out of this alive and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” He agreed, aiming his gun down the hallway. The two went back to back, preparing for something, anything. The creature charging down the hallway was immediately blasted with a few rounds of laser fire, but it had no effect. 

“Shit.” Lance muttered, then grabbed Keith’s hand. He activated his boosters, and dragged him down the hall to a supply closet. He shoved him in and the door shut. Stupid Lance and his stupid self sacrifice ideas. Keith slashed his sword at the door and hoped he could get out of there. He would not let Lance die for him.   
________________  
Okay, so maybe locking Keith in a supply closet wasn’t his brightest idea. But Lance couldn’t let Keith sacrifice himself. He wouldn’t. The team needed Keith, but did they need Lance. He didn’t think they did. They constantly called him the dumb one and acted like he was too over dramatic to have actual feelings. Okay, maybe he was a little over dramatic, but it didn’t mean he didn’t have feelings. 

Lance tore down the hallway towards the control room, the creature chasing after him. 

“Self destruct is ready. Me and Allura are evacuating. Once it’s activated, you’ll have about a minute to get out of there.” Pidge’s voice crackled into existence over the comms. 

“I got it. I’ll activate it.” Lance replied quickly, muting the channel as soon as he was done. He knew it was unlikely he would make it out of there, but he would save the team. Isn’t that what mattered?

He eventually made it to the control room. The second he stopped running and slammed the door closed, a familiar figure in red dropped down from the vents. 

“KEITH?” He exclaimed. 

“Fucking hell Lance. Why are you so intent on sacrificing yourself?” Keith grabbed Lance’s hand and started pulling him away from the console. 

“I’m not. I want to save the team, and we all know I’m the least valuable player. You’ve all got a ‘thing’. I don’t. So Keith, get out of here and let me do this.” He expected some form of protest, but not for the boy to grit his teeth. 

“Sorry Lance.” Keith replied. He whacked the handle of his sword against Lance’s head and everything went dark.   
________________  
So Lance was down and Keith had to get him out. The red paladin was collapsed against the console, passed out. Keith was currently on comms, trying to figure out a way to remote trigger the self destruct. He would have just done it himself, but Lance was still here. He would not be responsible for the death of him. No way in hell. 

“Pidge, tell me you’ve got some sort of alternative.” He pleaded over the comms. 

“I didn’t have time to rig a remote access. I’m sorry.” She sounded upset. 

“I’ll do it.” Lahn came in through the doors and Keith picked Lance up, cradling him, again. 

“We can’t ask you to sacrifice yourself.” Allura said. 

“You aren’t asking. I’m telling. Now go, paladins, and protect the universe.” He gave a smile as Keith activated his boosters and got Lance to the outside. 

Red let him in without much trouble and he put Lance into the pilot seat. 

“Get him back safely.” He patted Red’s control panel and got into Black. The paladins took off as the ship burst into flames. They flew back to the Atlas without much trouble, but they all felt like letting Lahn die for them was wrong.   
________________  
Lance woke up on his bed. He had no memory of how he got there, but he did remember being knocked out by Keith. Was Keith… did he blow up the ship? Lance ran out of his room and down the hall and to his leader’s room. He opened the door and…

Keith was on the bed. 

Reading. 

“KEITH WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” He yelled. The boy jumped and almost dropped his book. 

“Lance, what’s up?” He got off his bed and walked over as Lance stormed in. 

“Don’t ‘what’s up’ me! You knocked me out so you could blow up the ship and die!”

“And you acted like you weren’t valuable! I got you out of there alive!”

“At what would have been the expense of yourself!”

“LANCE I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO DIE!”

“I'VE ALREADY DIED!” He yelled. Suddenly, Keith stopped talking. He started at Lance. 

“You died?” Oh no. Lance fucked up. He shouldn’t have said that. 

“I.. yeah.”

“Lance what the fuck? No one told me that. Why the hell didn’t anyone else tell me that!”

“They probably don’t know. Allura brought me back as soon as I saved her.”

“Wait, your self sacrificing bullshit led to you dying! LANCE!” 

“Don’t act like you haven’t done the same! I know about Naxella. You can’t… Keith you can’t do shit like that.” Lance grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. He didn’t want to let go. They stayed that way for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it was pretty unlikely they all would have gotten out of there alive
> 
> No Adam in this chapter, but he’ll be back, don’t worry
> 
> So my update schedule is not going to be regular, but once each chapter is done, I’ll post
> 
> So I don’t know if you can tell, but the plot of this is going to be different from the canon season 8, because canon sucks ass and we are going to ignore it
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading and comment anything I can fix in later chapters


	3. Episode 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter is so short, I haven't had a lot of time to write

“Is it really a good idea to split up from the Atlas?” Hunk pointed out as the lions went through space. 

 

“I don’t like it anymore than you do, but we move faster without the ship. And Shiro thought because it’s Olkari that it’s a better plan for us to go and find them.” Keith spoke. He guided Black through as they kept going. It had only been a few days since Lance barged into his room and they had talked. Keith knew it was just Lance being concerned. They were friends. That was how Lance was with his friends. But… he just didn’t  know how to feel. 

 

“Uh guys? Somethings wrong with the readings. I know we’re getting close to Olkari, but it says there’s only one life force out here and it’s not where it should be.” Pidge pipped up, her image coming onto the view screen. 

 

“Oh quiznack- that’s a weblum!” 

________________

Veronica tapped the buttons and scanned deep space. She hadn’t been too eager to split up with her brother after the last time he left for space, but it wasn’t like she had a choice. When the commander made a decision, she was supposed to listen. Doesn’t mean she couldn’t monitor deep space for any signs of her baby brother being in trouble. She went through the signals, trying to find any sort of match.

 

“What the hell?” She murmured. A signal from a Galran prison. She clicked it and opened it up. Weird, it wasn’t in Galran. Maybe… Morse code? 

 

It said:  .- .-- / .--. .-. .. ... --- -. . .-. / ... . -. -.. / .... . .-.. .--. / .- ... .- .--. / .. -. / --.- ..- .- -.. .-. .- -. - / ...-- ..--- --... ----.

Veronica downloaded the signal onto her device and left the bridge. Luckily, she knew someone who was fluent in Morse code. 

________________

“What do you mean it’s a weblum? “We can’t just let that stupid alien worm eat a technological marvel!” Pidge protested over the comms. 

 

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do.” Allura spoke quietly, like she wanted to calm a wild animal. 

 

“But Olkari might have information about the tech used in the new robeast! We can’t just let that go!”

 

“What if Allura and Pidge went down to the surface while we hold the weblum off? They can get all the information without as much danger.” Lance suggested. 

 

“We’re gonna go with Lance’s plan. Hunk, Lance, follow me to the front of the weblum. Pidge, Allura, get in and get out as fast as you can. We’ll buy you some time.”

________________

“So you really think that this is important?” Rachel spoke. She sat at her station in the infirmary, wearing her own uniform, which was a button up grey blouse and black dress pants. Her long brown hair was pulled up into a braided crown, she had a necklace with a blue pendant on, and her pass was clipped onto her pants. 

 

“I mean, we’re pretty deep in space and Morse code, as far as I can tell, is a purely human thing. Don’t you think it’s a little weird that a human form of communication was broadcasted out?” Veronica crossed her arms. 

 

“I mean yeah? But I really should be paying attention to-”

 

“Come on… are you really gonna let your big sister go find someone else to translate?” 

 

“Fine. Let me see the message.”

________________

Pidge walked through the empty city of Olkari. Last time she had been here, it was with Ryner, and they had been discussing a possible internship in the city once the war was over. And now it was a broken dream. She was in the middle of a planet that had meant so much to her, had represented hope in a time when she had lost her family, and now it was all gone. Pidge dropped to her knees. 

 

“Pidge-” Allura tried. 

 

“It’s not fair! I’m just a kid and I have all of these responsibilities and now I’m fighting a goddamn war I shouldn’t even have to deal with?” She cried. Allura gathered the younger girl in her arms and pulled her in for a hug. 

 

“I know it’s not fair for you to have been chosen to fight alongside me, but you are a great green paladin. And I know that your mother and father are so proud of you.” 

 

“Thanks ‘llura. We should- uh, look for any sort of tech blueprints.” Pidge stood up and suddenly was overwhelmed with a vision. 

________________

“Here it is.” Veronica handed the screen off to her sister. 

 

“Okay give me a few minutes.” Rachel took the pad and began looking it. 

 

“So… how much longer?” She tapped her fingers on the desk. 

 

“It’s gonna be so much longer if you distract me.” Her sister muttered. 

 

“Sorry, fine.” She listened to Rachel mutter under her breath for a few minutes and eventually her sister looked up. 

 

“Who the hell is AW?”

________________

Pidge pressed her hands into the ground, trying to get another vision on the past. Maybe she could even figure out what happened to Olkari. She concentrated and felt her consciousness dissolve. 

________________

Okay it was a little strange that Pidge could see into the past, but how could Allura judge. She had literally put a spirit into a clone’s body. The smaller girl was crouched on the ground, her glove off and her hand pressed into the dirt. Allura was a little worried about the weblum and how the boys were doing. They had established a private channel tin order to ‘not distract the girls.’ Honestly, the boys should be worried about being distracted. They were acting like the girls got distracted by any type of noise, which wasn’t true. Allura has sat in on multiple diplomatic meetings and hadn’t gotten distracted, which was a feat in itself. Those meetings had been so dull. 

 

“How’s it going down there?” The out of breath voice of Keith broke through the static. 

 

“Pidge has found a way to commune with the planet and find out what happened here?” 

 

“Well you might want to hurry up, because we can’t hold this thing off much longer.”

________________

“What do you mean ‘who’s AW’? What does the message say?” Veronica pestered. 

 

“Well, the whole message is weird, but there’s this one part about someone named AW.”

 

“What’s the message? It could be in military code?”

 

“It says ‘AW prisoner ././. Send help asap ././. In quadrant 3279’. So like I said, who the hell is AW?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed
> 
> Any Questions? @saltyspacebitches on tumblr can answer them


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